Up, Up and Away & A Tower of Water aka A Water Tower

By the time this posts, we will be on our way to the airport as our flight leaves at 8:45 a.m., meaning we have to get to Mimi's at 6:00 a.m. in order for her to get us to the airport on time, with our eyelids only half opened.

Well, I really worked hard and got five (including this post) posts ready if blogger will cooperate and publish them, so hang on and let's see what happens.

All of you will be in my prayers while we are gone and this is not just something I say, it is what I truly do.

About a week ago Michael asked me about water towers, and their purpose, so I decided, hey, how about an informative post on them?

So here is a very happy water tower....

How's this for a cute little teapot one...this one is one that Judy @ Just A Little Something For You could have designed and it reminded me of her...

This one is VERY colorful, think they left out the NEW for New York? Eileen (@Umma's World), you want to paint it on there?....

Anyone for a watermelon tower ?(I do love watermelons)....



This one is in Kentucky and just kind of cute...

How about this one for artistic and interesting?....

Now these must be Diana (@Welcome To My World)water towers because they are so funny!.....

This isn't too far from funny either, so it must be Jackie (@Teacher's Pet) and me (@LaLA Land), funny bunnies here in Georgia...

Here is the 'real' water tower where Michael and I live....

Can't do water towers without including my home town of Chicago's famous old water tower...

Here's the inscription on the side of it...

It's really a work of art too and I have been to it several times and so have my children....

Now, here's the inside story on water towers for those who need to know....

"A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated water storage container constructed for the purpose of holding a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system. Pressurization occurs through the elevation of water; for every 10.20 centimetres (4.016 in) of elevation, it produces 1 kilopascal (0.145 psi) of pressure. 30 m (98.43 ft) of elevation produces roughly 300 kPa (43.511 psi), which is enough pressure to operate and provide for most domestic water pressure and distribution system requirements.

Many water towers were constructed during the Industrial Revolution; some are now considered architectural landmarks and monuments, and may not be demolished. Some are converted to apartments or exclusive penthouses.

In certain areas, such as New York City, smaller water towers are constructed for individual buildings.

Purpose

Shooter's Hill water tower is a local landmark; water towers are very common around London suburbsThe users of the water supply (a town, factory, or just a building) need to have water pressure to maintain the safety of the water supply. If a water supply is not pressurized sufficiently, several things can happen:

Water may not reach the upper floors of a building;
Water may not spray from a tap with sufficient flow
Without a water tower, parts of gravity flow water supply systems in hilly areas may be subject to negative pressures (see siphon). Negative pressure in the system may cause shallow groundwater to be sucked into a leaky water supply system, polluting it with microorganisms, dirt, sand, fertilizers, and any other toxic contaminants that may be in the groundwater;
Water towers are able to supply water even during power outages, because they rely on pressure produced by elevation of water (due to gravity) to push the water pipes into domestic and industrial water distribution systems; however, they cannot supply water for a long time without electricity, because a pump is required to refill the tower.
A further purpose is that a water tower serves as a reservoir to help with water needs during peak usage times. The water level in the tower typically falls during the peak usage hours of the day, and then a pump fills it back up during the night. This process also keeps the water from freezing in cold weather, since the tower is constantly being drained and refilled.
Operation

How Roihuvuori water tower works:
1. Pump station
2. Reservoir
3. Water userThe height of the tower provides the hydrostatic pressure for the water supply system, and it may be supplemented with a pump. The volume of the reservoir and diameter of the piping provide and sustain flow rate. However, relying on a pump to provide pressure is expensive; to keep up with varying demand, the pump would have to be sized to meet peak demands. During periods of low demand, jockey pumps are used to meet these lower water flow requirements. The water tower reduces the need for electrical consumption of cycling pumps and thus the need for an expensive pump control system, as this system would have to be sized sufficiently to give the same pressure at high flow rates.

Very high volumes and flow rates are needed when fighting fires. With a water tower present, pumps can be sized for average demand, not peak demand; the water tower can provide water pressure during the day and pumps will refill the water tower when demands are lower.

Decoration

The House in the Clouds in Thorpeness functioned as the town's water tower until 1923.Water towers can be surrounded by ornate coverings including fancy brickwork, a large ivy-covered trellis or they can be simply painted. Some city water towers have the name of the city painted in large letters on the roof, as a navigational aid to aviators. Sometimes the decoration can be humorous, as Granger, Iowa has two water towers, labeled HOT and COLD. The House in the Clouds in Thorpeness, located in the English county of Suffolk, was built to resemble a house in order to disguise the eyesore, whilst the lower floors were used for accommodation. When the town was connected to the mains water supply, the water tower was dismantled and converted to additional living space.

Sapp Bros. truck stops use a water tower with a handle and spout – looking like a coffee pot – as the company logo. Many of their facilities have decorated actual water towers (presumably non-functional) on-site.

The first and original "Mushroom" – Svampen in Swedish – was built in Örebro in Sweden in the early 1950s and later copies were built around the world including Saudi-Arabia and Kuwait."

I will be checking in whenever time allows and I will try to comment when possible, so take good care of yourselves, please.

Now this humor is not 'watered' down, so please enjoy...

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The Magic Water Slide

Three guys are at the top of a huge water slide when they notice a genie. He says to them, "Since there are 3 of you, I will grant you each one wish. When you are going down the slide, simply shout what you want and it will appear at the bottom when you get there."

So the first guy goes down and shouts, "A billion dollars," and he lands in a pile of money.

The second guy goes down the slide and shouts, "Beautiful women," and he arrives to a line of hot models.

Then the third guy is so excited going down the slide that he shouts, "WEEEEEEEEE!"

Water in the Carburetor

WIFE: "There's trouble with the car. It has water in the carburetor."

HUSBAND: "Water in the carburetor? That's ridiculous."

WIFE: "I tell you the car has water in the carburetor."

HUSBAND: "You don't even know what a carburetor is. I'll check it out. Where's the car?"

WIFE: "In the pool."
***************

What is the chemical formula for water?
Little Johnny's teacher asks, "What is the chemical formula for water?"

Little Johnny replies, "HIJKLMNO"!!

The teacher, puzzled, asks, "What on Earth are you talking about?"

Little Johnny replies, "Yesterday you said it was H to O!"

~~~Lord, thank You for the blessings of clean water and the ways in which we receive it, may all people in our world be blessed with clean water.

Winning Is Fun & Fattening

Yappy dappy doo...I won something!! This doesn't happen often, but sometimes the excitement of trying is enough in itself so I continue to play bingo (when the ladies at church have it) and even the lottery every once in awhile. This is not me, but now that I think about it Michael's picture with that look would fit right in as he does love junk food and lots of it...

Now what I won can cause a bit of a weight problem so it's a good thing I found this, especially since I am hanging out with all perfect friends now in blogland...

Here is what I won and had to savor and savored so much that I was wide awake from the late caffeine shock at night. Sorry it's blurred but I was so anxious to eat it that my hands were wiggling (only kidding, I'm not THAT pathetic, but pretty close...)

So, I left a comment at Sarah's "So...This Is The Road I am traveling On", where one had the chance to win a bag of yummy Hershey's kisses with macadamia nuts from HAWAII
(I do admit that I was secretly, well maybe not SO secretly hoping, since I dropped her HUGE hints about two plane tickets to Hawaii being a great prize and resulting in a bazillion comments, that I would win the non existent plane tickets).

Anyway, she was overly generous and I got some extra goodies, like this nifty Hawaiian key chain...

Then Michael opened these and said "Looks like she sent you dog biscuits" and I said "Whose name is on this wonderful box, buddy??? Leave my dog biscuits alone!" Even though the doggie treats would have been fine since we have two doggies, these are people treats and Michael had better be nice or no treats!...

Yahoo, there was still one more thing...a very pretty pineapple ornament. The pineapple plantation on Hawaii has the BEST and sweetest pineapples so this is extra special as well as pretty. Thank you so very much, Sarah,

Here's the full beautiful bag which is now missing several pieces and boy they sure are good, so if my next pictures look larger than life it might just be because I have become larger than life...

Let's just laugh about it today for tomorrow we diet...

Fat Chance

Having fought the battle of the bulge most of my life, I found the battle getting even harder as I approached middle age. One evening, after trying on slacks that were too tight, I said to my husband, "I'll be so glad when we become grandparents. After all, who cares if grandmothers are fat?"

His prompt reply: "Grandfathers."
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Q. What do you call two fat men having a chat?

A. A heavy discussion.
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Scale Worries
During a scale manufacturing convention there were people all over who wanted to test the different scales out and weigh themselves to see if they all would have the same number. There were many though who decided not to participate in this so that no one would know how much they weighed.

There was one very well spoken representative who managed to convince a woman to try out his scale. He promised the he would not look down at the display and see what it said and that she would be the only one to know.

She decided to help him out and stepped onto the scale. After a moment of letting it read her weight a loud, mechanical voice rang out and said, “One hundred and sixty pounds.”
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A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked on the map, and Florida is a very thin state!"
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Recently I went to the doctor for my annual physical.

The nurse asked me how much I weighed. I told her 135 pounds. Then she weighed me and the scale said 160.

She asked me how tall I was. I said, "5 feet, 5 inches." She measured me and I was only 5 feet, 3 inches.

So she took my blood pressure and told me it was high.

"Of course it's high," I said. "When I came in here I was tall and slender. Now I'm short and fat!"

~~~Thank You Heavenly Father for the blessings of chances to win and for the knowledge that we ALWAYS win when we follow YOU.

A Prize that is a Surprise

Marina @A Beautiful Hue is a pretty new blogger who is also an artist as well as an art teacher and she just happens to speak and write in at least three languages fluently so I can identify with a lot with what she does. She recently received an award and I was one of the blessed recipients...

If you receive this award, you have to answer the following questions:

IF YOU COULD COME BACK AS AN ANIMAL, WHICH WOULD IT BE?
Okay, if you know me, you know that this is one tough question, so let me narrow it down to a puppy, a kitten, a tigress, a panda cub, a butterfly, an eagle, a hummingbird, a duckling and probably a few others.
SOMETHING YOU COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT
God and His goodness
WHAT DO YOU VALUE MOST IN ANOTHER PERSON
Caring, compassion, generosity for others and for animals.
THE COLORS YOU TEND TO WEAR ARE
Go figure this out... mostly blues even though green is my favorite color.
THREE WORDS THAT DEFINE YOU
Compassionate, prayerful, loving.
A PLACE YOU WOULD TRAVEL TO
Here we go again with these tough answers...the whole United States, Europe, Australia, Puerto Rico, South America.
YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE FROM A BOOK OR MOVIE
I have many, but let's use the best, "Love one another as I have loved you."
SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO
Win the lottery and help alot of people, write a book, become a better and better person.
YOUR MAIN STRENGTH/FORTE
Keeping level-headed in emergencies small or major (then I can always fall apart afterwards!)

You are also supposed to send this on to seven "young" blogs and seven blogs of wisdom. the nice thing about something like this is that it enables us to get to know one another just a little bit better and these 'tags, you're it' are fun and finally, if you have blogger's block, instead of walking around the block (get it...hee, hee???), you have something instant and easy to post.

Even though some blogs that I frequent have been around for awhile and some are quite young, I like to think that they are ALL wise, so I choose:

Brande @Steady As We Go...

Cathy @A Bit of the Blarney
Amy @A Redeemed Sheep
Abbey @ABBEY'S ROAD
Marlene @ANN OF GREEN CABLES
Lisa @Are We There Yet?
Angie @Can You All Hear Me at the Back?
Carol @Charli and Me
Eddie @Clouds and Silvery Linings
Do the Write Thing
Toni @Fangmann's Fun Follies
HOLIDAY IN THE SUN
Jerelene @Jerelene's Journal
Judy @ Just A Little Something For You
Linda @Linda Lu's BTDT (Been There, Done That)
Pat @LIVING ON GRACE
Wanda @Moments of Mine
My Home and Heart
Bernie @On My Own
Susana @ Para quien pase........ (Lo tengo en espanol si tu quieres hacer esto.)
Lara @Prossigo para o alvo
Rendezvous With Stillness
Joolz @ Simply Joolz
Sara @ So. . . This Is The Road I Am Traveling On
Susan @ susan in stitches
Tamara @Tamara's Treasures
Jackie @Teacher's Pet
Eileen @ Umma's World
Lois @Walking on Sunshine
Diana @Welcome to My World
Yaak Adventures

Meanwhile, back in jokeville, some poor blonds are taking the heat...

Blond Prize Winner
A blond goes to the local restaurant, buys a small drink for herself, and sits down to drink it. She notices a peel-off prize sticker on the side of her cup while she is drinking. After pulling off the tab, she begins screaming, "I won a motor home! I won a motor home!"

The waitress runs over and argues, "That's impossible. The biggest prize given away was a stereo system!"

The blond replies, "No. I won a motor home!"

By this time, the manager makes his way over to the table, and he too argues, "You couldn't possibly have won a motor home because we didn't have that as one of our prizes."

Again the blond says, "There is no mistake! I won a motor home!"

The blond hands the prize ticket to the manager and he reads, "WIN A BAGEL."

********

Slot machine winner

A mentally challenged blond was standing in front of a soda machine outside of a local store. After putting in sixty cents, a root beer pops out of the machine. She set it on the ground, puts sixty more cents into the machine, and pushes another button; suddenly, a coke comes out the machine!

She continued to do this until a man waiting to use the machine became impatient. "Excuse me, can I get my soda and then you can go back to whatever stupid thing you are doing?"

The blond turns around and says, "Yeah right! I'm not giving up this machine while I'm still winning!"
*******

I couldn't decide whether to go to Salt Lake City or Denver for vacation, so I called the airlines to get prices. "Airfare to Denver is $300," the cheery salesperson replied.

"And what about Salt Lake City?"

"We have a really great rate to Salt Lake—$99," she said "But there is a stopover."

"Where?"

"In Denver," she said.

~~~Lord, thank You for the blessings of the "prizes" we receive in life that have no monetary value whatsoever.

*******God Moments********

Each week I go to two different prayer groups and at each of them one of the things we discuss is our close moment to God. Sometimes we remember several moments or only one or even have times when it is difficult to recall one 'special' moment at all....

How easy it is to find Him and feel close when we are alone in the vast majesty of this earth...

Sometimes just reading a story like this can make you aware of one of your many 'God moments"...it certainly works for me...
The Secret Burden

A much loved-minister of God once carried a secret burden of long- past sin deep in his heart. He had committed the sin many years before, during his Bible school training. No one knew what he had done, but they did know he had repented. Even so, he had suffered years of remorse over the incident without any sense of God's forgiveness.

A woman in his church deeply loved God and claimed to have visions in which Jesus Christ spoke to her. The minister, skeptical of her claims, asked her, "The next time you speak to the Lord, would you please ask Him what sin your minister committed while he was in Bible school." The woman kindly agreed.

When she came to the church a few days later the minister asked, "Did He visit you?" She said, "Yes."

"And did you ask Him what sin I committed?"

"Yes, I asked Him," she replied

"Well, what did He say?"

"He said, 'I don't remember.'"

Heavenly Father, how small I am in Your glorious creation...I am awed that You think of me and love me, please help me to see my moments as moments with You...


It is ALWAYS a God moment when we reach out in even the smallest way to be kind to someone, one of many ways of spreading God's Word...

God's rainbow is His sign from the Old Testament to never flood the earth again, so how can a rainbow be less than a close moment to God, if we let it be??.....

Sure we can look up into the Heavens and 'see' God...

But can we remember that it is also a God moment when we look down and see something so small???...

And sharing with a little one or a loved one, we can feel God's closeness, but again ONLY if we LET it happen...

Just a little something I found on the Internet....

"We often can find God in the very ordinary, sometimes mundane routines of our lives, if we have the eyes to see and the willingness to look. God is present to us in the anticipatory moments (Advent) as well as the birthing experiences (Christmas) of our lives. We can often identify the hand of God as being present in the sufferings (Lent) and joys (Easter) of our ministry, and we can even find God in the regular routines (Ordinary Time) of our lives. Like the treasure which is hidden in a field, God waits for us to discover the treasure which is beyond all price, the treasure which we are willing to sacrifice everything in order to obtain."

When I visit lovely blogs that capture the wonder of the world around us like Wanda @Moments of Mine I just see Him everywhere....

Just about every blog that I visit gives me close moments to God through what they share and the caring that they express. So, when we are searching in our minds for a moment close to God, we are actually making that moment happen right then and there, so don't be afraid to look above, below or all around you, for He is wherever you look and as close as you want Him to be...

Time to smile for God loves a happy and kind face...

A kindergartner was practicing spelling

A kindergartner was practicing spelling with magnetic letters on the refrigerator: cat, dog, dad, and mom had been proudly displayed for all to see.

One morning while getting ready for the day, he bounded into the room with his
arms outstretched. In his hands were three magnetic letters: G-O-D.

“Look what I spelled, Mom!” with a proud smile on his face.

“That's wonderful!” his mom praised him. “Now go put them on the fridge so Dad
can see when he gets home tonight.”

The mom happily thought that her son's Catholic education was certainly having
an impact. Just then, a little voice called from the kitchen: “Mom? How do you spell
‘zilla’?”

*************
Kids on the Old and New Testaments
(Although I have posted a list very similar to this in the past, it is worth re-reading!)

This comes from a Christian elementary school. Kids were asked questions about the Old and New Testaments. They have not been retouched or corrected (i.e., incorrect spelling has been left in.)... Enjoy!

* In the first book of the bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the
world, so he took the Sabbath off.

* Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was called
Joan of Ark. Noah built an ark, which the animals come on to in pears.

* Lot's wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.

* The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with
the unsympathetic Genitals.

* Samson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a Jezebel
like Delilah.

* Moses led the hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread
which is bread without any ingredients.

* The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses
went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten ammendments.

* The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.

* Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the
hebrews in the battle of Geritol.

* The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand
still and he obeyed him.

* David was a hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. he fought with the
Finklesteins, a race of people who lived in Biblical times.

* Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.

* When Mary heard that she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the
Magna Carta.

* When the three wise guys from the east side arrived, they found Jesus in
the manager.

* Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.

* Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do one to others before
they do one to you. He also explained, "a man doth not live by sweat alone."

* It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the
tombstone off the entrance.

* The people who followed the lord were called the 12 decibels. The epistles
were the wives of the apostles.

* One of the oppossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan.

* St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is
another name for marriage.

* Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony.

~~~Thank You Lord, for the blessings around us in so many ways each and everyday, may we look for and find You in all of them.

Stop, Pause, Fast Forward

Alright, I think what I might need is something like this....

It feels as if things around here have been on 'fast forward' without all the things getting done that need to be done. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were filled with so much to do that blog posting kind of fell by the wayside through it all. So maybe I really need to find...

IN the blur of things yesterday, my Michael actually had a vacation day which he spent going to the post office and getting a puzzle started (as a nice surprise for me). Meanwhile, I went with Kelly for her court date yesterday with rain and traffic being a real challenge as we headed toward Dekalb Recorder's Court. We rode around in circles for awhile trying to find it, then discovered we were too early so we sat in the car and looked at ad catalogues that i had left there from the mail (you know you are desperate for reading material when you are reading advertisements for entertainment!) Anyway, the good news and the slightly bad news is that Kelly's ticket (to which she is pleading not guilty) was not even in the system, so they told her to just watch the mail and if it comes in the mail she will have a new court date....

Now I need to get on the fast track as a week from today we will be in Phoenix, AZ with my son and daughter-in-law and two gorgeous grandchildren, Corbyn who is six and Myla who is three. Gotta do some puckering up exercising so my lips will be able to give enough kisses...so watch out dogs, cats and mostly Michael (can't kiss sweet Kelly as she is very sick with some sort of coughing and sniffling)...

This is what the Internet via Wikipedia, told me...

"To fast-forward means to move forward through an audio or video recording at a speed faster than that at which it would usually flow. The term "fasten forward" is also used instead of fast-forward.

To reach a certain portion of a song, a person may fast-forward through a cassette tape by pressing a button (often labeled "Fast Forward" itself) on the tape deck containing the tape. The tape deck's motor activates at a speed higher than usual—for example, double the standard 1-7/8 ips playing speed of the 1/8" cassette tape—and can be stopped by the end of the tape, the pressing of a "Stop" button on the deck (or another button mechanism disengaging the button), or simply lifting a finger from the "Fast Forward" button.

Fast-forwarding is the exact opposite of rewinding, in which tape, music, etc., are moved backward at a user's discretion. In either operation, because of sound distortion, volume is usually muted or severely reduced.

With the advent of inexpensive digital music media, fast-forwarding has most likely lost its past meaning related to the speed of a tape deck motor (or record turntable, or another device allowing fast-forwarding) and now may, especially as cassette tapes and other analogue media are used less and less by younger generations, only apply to the operation of moving ahead in a recording's time frame—accomplished today by simple clicking, dragging a slide image, or even via speech-recognition software. (Still, some CD and DVD players offer tape-style fast-forwarding, so that the user can detect when the destination is reached and stop.)"

And here are the jokes I found...

How fast was I going?

"When I saw you driving down the road, I guessed 55 at least."

"You're wrong, officer, it's only my hat that makes me look that old."
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What takes longer, running from first base ...
What takes longer, running from first base to second, or from second to third?

Second to third, because you have to go through a shortstop.
***************
"Cash, check or charge?" I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse.

"So, do you always carry your TV remote?" I asked.

"No," she replied, "but my husband refused to come shopping with me, so I figured this was the most legal evil thing I could do to him."
*************
Pilot Flying Rules

(These were supposed to be funny, but I made the mistake of reading them and I am no super hero when it comes to flying...why oh why do I read my own stuff?)

There is a lot pilots have to take into account when flying safely across the sky...
(This is the part where I want to interview the pilot and see how happy he is and sniff his breath as well.)

1. Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory.
(What we need is an airplane freeway, where they can just stay on the ground and go this fast!)

2. If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick all the way back, then they get bigger again.

(I'm not only not sure of what this means, but I don't want to know either.)

3. Flying isn't dangerous. Crashing is what's dangerous.
(So simple, so basic, did someone tell the pilot?)

4. It's always better to be down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing you were down here.
(How about just wishing I was on a train instead?)

5. The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.
(How reassuring this is.)

6. The propeller is just a big fan in front of the plane used to keep the pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the pilot start sweating.
(I'm going to take some extra fans on my trip just to be safe.)

7. When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No one has ever collided with the sky.
(Personally I will hold onto my praying.)

8. A 'good' landing is one from which you can walk away. A 'great' landing is one after which they can use the plane again.
(A good landing is also one in which most of the passengers have not wet their pants when they get off.)

9. Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.
(Hey, all we need here is to live through the flight...no learning about mistakes while flying, Mr. Pilot, please.)

10. You know you've landed with the wheels up if it takes full power to taxi to the ramp.
(You also can tell if your breathing is returning to the rate of a horse on a racetrack).

11. The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival. Large angle of arrival, small probability of survival and vice-versa.
(I really enjoyed studying geometry and all those angles, but these are not so much fun.)

12. Never let an aircraft take you somewhere your brain didn't get to five minutes earlier.
(Not too sure about this one either so it's just confusing and not scary at all.)

13. Stay out of clouds. The silver lining everyone keeps talking about might be another airplane going in the opposite direction. Reliable sources also report that mountains have been known to hide out in clouds.
(WHO made this list up? Are they just wacko? They must love to drive the flying impaired people crazy.)

14. Always try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number of take offs you've made.
(Okay, now I think I will just give up on this sick individual who made up this list designed to make the most confident air traveler at least slightly queasy.)

15. There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.

16. You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.

17. Helicopters can't fly; they're just so ugly the earth repels them.

18. If all you can see out of the window is ground that's going round and round and all you can hear is commotion coming from the passenger compartment, things are not at all as they should be.

19. In the ongoing battle between objects made of aluminum going hundreds of miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose.

20. Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, experience usually comes from bad judgment.

21. It's always a good idea to keep the pointy end going forward as much as possible.

22. Keep looking around. There's always something you've missed.

23. Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It's the law. And it's not subject to repeal.

24. The four most useless things to a pilot are the altitude above you, runway behind you, gas back at the airport, and a tenth of a second ago.

25. There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. There are, however, no old, bold pilots.

~~~Thank You Lord for the blessings of all the things that we DO get done as well as for the fact that You are always with us, even in airplanes.

Back to the Drawing, er ... Painting Board... er Canvas

Today is the day to paint and paint

Let's hope it's something good that won't make you faint

Or utter sad words like "An artist she ain't"

You could always just say "Now isn't that quaint?"

It's okay if you don't like it

I promise not to cry

But you just might hear me sigh and sigh

As I try to capture the blue of the sky

If nothing else I'll be happy if I make you smile

Just try not to crack up too much for a little while

So I won't hear you rolling around on the floor

As you wonder if you can take much more!

Here is the magnolia blossom I was working on, actually that I am still working on....

Here the instructor added a little more blue background on the left bottom side as well as helping me with more shading...this may sound crazy but I think I liked it better before and would have just made the center yellow/orange....Oh, well, I know so little and this is a learning experience...

While this is setting, she hands me another canvas and props up another ladies' painting and says to start from scratch...yikes, I thought we were stenciling in EVERYTHING. She did the first few 'good' trees on the left and then I did the sorry ones afterward. She started the clouds and I 'amplified' them...

Some neat facts from the Internet and maybe we can learn together....

Following are the tips for you to maintain good oil painting habits:

Tips for saving color:
• Clean away any mixtures near heaps of colors you are setting up to keep.
• Keep a habit to put colors in same place on palette - used up areas must be worn out & wiped for new oil paint for next painting session.
• For disposable palettes scoop off mounds of paint you desire to maintain with your knife and move them to a fresh sheet; if a skin shapes, stab and take away the skin and work with the new color under.
• If you are not regular on painting for a week - cover palette with plastic cover & place in freezer.
• When you desire to clean your palette clean off central mixing area of wooden/acrylic palette, when you are done with your oil painting,
• For caring for tube keep tubes clean, wipe necks & caps.

Caring for your brushes:
• Wipe to take away surplus paint on rags, newspaper, etc.
• Rinse in container of solvent not advisable to soak.
• Clean your oil painting brush with rags, newspaper to immerse up solvent
• You can also use mild soap (shampoo or dawn), put dab in palm of your hand, foam brush in palm moving in circle to work foam into bristles.
• Lather & wash it in lukewarm water until soap suds are snow white, & rinse with clear water; bristles might discolor.
• Press bristles into tidy, solid shape while moist.
• Let it dry and store in jar bristle-end up.

Safety precautions:
• Read labels on oil paints and mediums - some are gently toxic (cadmium colors), so you need to careful with it.
• Avoid consumption of food or smoking while you paint
• Wash hands carefully after oil painting reproduction session; try using lotion to hands before hand, paints would wash off easier
• Some solvents don't create deadly fumes, any how, must be used in well air room - open a window
• Some solvents are combustible also and toxic (gasoline, kerosene) - stick to turpentine and petroleum stuff made for artist's use.

Here's another shot of the same picture but a slightly different angle...

Now if looking at those paintings didn't make you laugh hard enough, maybe these jokes will do the trick...

The Art Collector
A famous art collector is walking through the city when he notices a mangy cat lapping milk from a saucer in the doorway of a store. He does a double take.

He knows that the saucer is extremely old and very valuable, so he walks casually into the store and offers to buy the cat for two dollars.

The storeowner replies, "I'm sorry, but the cat isn't for sale."

The collector says, "Please, I need a hungry cat around the house to catch mice. I'll pay you 20 dollars for that cat."

And the owner says "Sold," and hands over the cat.

The collector continues, "Hey, for the twenty bucks I wonder if you could throw in that old saucer. The cat's used to it and it'll save me from having to get a dish."

The owner says, "Sorry buddy, but that's my lucky saucer. So far this week I've sold sixty-eight cats."

*************
Sardar at an Art Gallery: I suppose this horrible looking thing is what you call modern art ?
Art dealer: I beg your pardon sir, that's a mirror!

**************

You might be artistically inclined if...

1.You were more concerned about the color of your car than the fuel consumption.

2.The highlights in your hair are from your palette and not Clairol.

3.You are having lunch with the girls and the fragrance you wear is eau d'linseed oil.

4.The only piece of new furniture you have in your home is a $2000 easel.

5.You butter your toast with your fingers, just to feel its texture.

6.You think about taking a picture to a movie.

7.You talk about going to a movie where the pictures don't move.

8.You are over 50 and still have no health insurance.

9.Your family takes out a life insurance plan on you for less than $5000.

10.You know what shade of green the lichen on the trees is.

11.You can't find a nice outfit for your date because everything has paint smears on.

12.Your date ends up with paint smears on her/him.

~~~Thank You Lord for the blessings of new starts with new things and new people.

Something different for Monday, a meme

The Eight Question MEME

Got this one from Lisa @Are We There Yet

Six names you go by:
1. Mom
2. Mama
3. Marcy
4. Gamma
5. Ganga
6. Hey, Red

Three things you are wearing right now:
1. Long johns and warm pants (it's freezing here today!)
2. Sweatshirt (green) with embroidered eagle that belonged to my late beloved hubby Mario.
3. Robe over all that along with slippers and socks!


Three things you want very badly at the moment (aside from world peace and to have my children going to church):
1. Warmer weather
2. Some home made goodies to miraculously appear for my Consolation group tonight (not really as I do love to bake).
3. Someone else to make all the plans and preparations for our upcoming trip to Phoenix, AZ (this one I DO mean!!)


Three things you did last night/yesterday
1. Prayed seriously and fervently for peace and sweet Michael prayed the rosary with me!
2. Helped Michael put up the first of four reinforcement boards for when he puts the closet rod and shelf back up.
3. Played Skip Bo with loving Michael after church.

Two things you ate today
1. cocoa crispies (I'm on a chocolate 'roll' lately...not so good for a healthy meal)
2. Dannon Activia yogurt (my regular after breakfast staple)

Two people you last talked to on the phone:
1. My daughter Ria
2. My friend Mimi

Two things you are going to do today/tomorrow:
1. Go to Prayer Group
2. Go to Mass, followed by my consolation group where I will be bringing the yet unmade goodies.

Your three favorite beverages:
1. Water with lemon or lime
2. Cherry fruit juice
3. Bailey's Irish Cream

Here's what you're supposed to do. Copy and paste the questions into your blog. Then delete my answers and type in your answers. Send this to 5 people and enjoy the fun!

I invite:

1. Bernie @On My Own
2. Carol @Charli and Me
3. Diana @Welcome To My World
4. Eileen @Umma's World
5. Jackie @ Teacher's Pet
5. Jerelene @Jerelene's Journal
5. Teresa @Do The Write Thing
5. Wanda @Moments of Mine
5. Marina @A Beautiful Hue
5. Angie @Can You All Hear Me at The Back?
5. Tamara @Tamara's Treasures
5. Judy @Just A Little Something For You

Let's see if I can find some info for you from the Internet...

"A meme is any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.

A meme is defined within memetic theory as a unit of cultural information, cultural evolution or diffusion that propagates from one mind to another analogously to the way in which a gene propagates from one organism to another as a unit of genetic information and of biological evolution. Multiple memes may propagate as cooperative groups called memeplexes (meme complexes). Via Wikipedia.

Biologist and evolutionary theorist Richard Dawkins coined the term meme in 1976. He gave as examples tunes, catch-phrases, beliefs, clothing fashions, ways of making pots, and the technology of building arches.

Meme theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection similarly to Charles Darwin's theory of biological evolution through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an organism's reproductive success. So with memes, some ideas will propagate less successfully and become extinct, while others will survive, spread, and, for better or for worse, mutate. Memeticists argue that the memes most beneficial to their hosts will not necessarily survive; rather, those memes that replicate the most effectively spread best, which allows for the possibility that successful memes may prove detrimental to their hosts."

I read that Jokes, being repetitive are also memes, so have a few on me...

The Driving Test

A professional juggler, driving to his next performance, is stopped by the police.

"What are you doing with these matches and lighter fluid in your car?" asks the police officer.

"I'm a juggler and I juggle flaming torches in my act."

"Oh yeah? Let's see you do it," says the officer.

So the juggler gets out and starts juggling the blazing torches
masterfully.

A couple driving by slows down to watch. "Wow," says the driver to his
wife. "I'm glad I quit drinking. Look at the test they're giving now!"

*************

Dave Barry's 50 Years of Experience


1. Never, under any circumstances, combine a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. If you had to specify, in one word, why the human race has not, and will never achieve its full potential, that word would be meetings.

3. It is a fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

4. People who push to share their religious views with you rarely care to have you to share yours with them.

5. One does well to separate one's career from one's life.

6. Nobody cares if you can't dance. Just dance.

7. Regardless of the temptation, don't lick a steak knife.

8. The most devastating force in the world is gossip.

9. You should never say anything to a woman that even hints that you think she's pregnant.


10. The one constant among all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.

11. A person, who is nice to you, but mean to the stranger, is not a nice person.

12. Men are like a fine cheese. They start out as milk, and it's up to women to mold them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

~~~Thank You Lord for the blessings of repetition in our lives to help us feel grounded when we need it.

Today is THE DAY....PLEASE PRAY

These past few days have provided some interesting challenges for trying to post, with Michael (he's fine now) being sick, going for flu shots, gathering veggies from our garden before the possible freeze and then helping out at our rainy International Festival at church on Saturday!

This morning as I was praying about and getting ready to do this post, a bunch of wonderful thoughts hit me...

1. Today is that all special day for EVERYONE to pray for peace!!

2. Yesterday was our International day with people sharing their cultures from ALL over the world (how perfect to pray for world peace the next day!)!!

3. I not only remembered it, but started praying before my feet hit the floor this morning.

4. This is another Sunday that I am blessed to be doing a scripture reading at church.

5. Last and definitely NOT least, I "felt" God's Hand on me when I read another dear blogger posting about praying for peace today. Thank you so much to a blogger friend (whose blog is Happy Wife Happy Life)!!

So my prayer will include hoping that 10 times the people pray for peace, today most especially!!...

Does it make any difference who you are or where you are?...NO!! This world was/is our Maker's gift to us, let us pray for it's loving preservation through peace and love...

Love comes from peace, peace comes from love and both must come from our hearts to make it happen..

There is NO language barrier here nor religious barrier, it is a PRAYER, a feeling, an action and it unites us all....

So, let's not just keep it in our hearts or hopes or wishes, but by praying, let's make it happen...

TOGETHER we can join hands and hearts in prayer and change dissension to tranquility and peace...

Write about it, draw it, think it but most of all PRAY about it....

How about, from now on, you picture this sign at whatever station you go to for gasoline (petrol) and say a prayer for peace each time???...

Here I go again, finding something good and inspirational from the Internet and this is my prayer for all of you...

"May there be peace within you today.
May you trust your highest power
that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received
and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones and allow your soul
the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us!"

Thoughts of peace alone inspire tranquility within us, so let's keep on praying for peace....

So I leave you with the same prayer and picture that started this post. Today I will be setting aside two, no, a minimum of three, special times (stopping everything else and just kneeling or sitting and praying) to REALLY pray for peace and Michael will be praying with me.

Are you ready for a smile or two or three?....

CHURCH SIGNS

1) The best vitamin for a Christian is B1
2) Under same management for over 2000 years
3) Try Jesus. If you don't like Him, the devil will always take you back
4) Soul food served here
5) You can give without loving but you cannot love without giving
6) Never give the devil a ride. He will always want to drive
7) Reputation is what people think about you. Character is what people know you are
8) Don't give up. Moses was once a basket case!
9) Come early for a good Back seat
10) Seven days without prayer makes one weak
11) No Jesus - no peace, Know Jesus - know peace!
12) Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due

MORE CHURCH SIGNS

1) Free Trip to heaven. Details Inside!
2) Try our Sundays. They are better than Baskin-Robbins.
3) Searching for a new look? Have your faith lifted here!
4) An ad for a Church has a picture of two hands holding stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments are inscribed and a headline that reads, "For fast, fast, fast relief, take two tablets.
5) When the restaurant next to the Church put out a big sign that said, "Open Sundays," the church reciprocated with its own message: "We are open on Sundays, too."
6) Have trouble sleeping? We have sermons -- come hear one!
7) Come in and pray today. Beat the Christmas rush!
8) Sign broken. Message inside this Sunday.
9) Come work for the Lord. The work is hard, the hours are long and the pay is low. But the retirement benefits are out of this world.
10) If you're headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns.

~~~There are too many blessings to be able to ever thank You enough Lord and yet I try, so thank You for the blessings of prayers for peace and MAY THEY MULTIPLY BEYOND BELIEF!